Button sewing implement



July 4, i950 R. FoLsoM 2,513,633

BUTTON SEWING IMPLEMENT Filedv sept. 2e, 194s gwua/wto/n RALPH FOLSOM Patented July 4, 1950 4 '--.`f-1- l f Ralph msnm, Youngstbwn, ohi

ITl'iis invention 'rel' es buttons 'onto cijcth; implement useful 4 l task. In many 'it i's desirab n t -it the buttons, whennnally se cloth; be

spaced outwardlyjf' n this 'spacing iis diciture 'tf1 fa' ,n

' I1S A vy final spacing of the buttonswfromhe cloth may be readily arid accurately predetermined.

Another abject 'cf tnefinvnun is thewprovision of an implement for the purposes Ainclicalted above whichvmay be readily withdrawn from the assembled cloth and button by a simple sliding movement upon compltionof thew'bi'it't'on A) etion offthfprinf to or depicting am the. particular' tiiiichjthe butjis 'trtached to th cloth.

A further object f th'inviition is the provisionnofan improved device for retaining a buttenvwhilatheesame isbingiseWedr-Ontoa@ieee f cloth by hand, and of a device of this character which is operative to control the lengths of the thread loops which are employed to secure the button to the `cloth whereby the spacing of the button from the face of the cloth may be accurately predetermined and controlled.

A still further object ofthe invention is the provision of an improved implement useful in the hand sewing of buttons which is operative to facilitate the retaining of the cloth and button in fiat overlying relation whereby the sewing operation is materially aided.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed specification and the accompanying drawing wherein there is disclosed a preferred practical embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figures 1, 2 and 3 are plan, side and end views, respectively, of a button holding implement constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, the views showing a buty iiinitaatspfemter sains, aan;

ufoiaim. (checar-:irai

arily,y o

and 3. It should also be observed that the tine I2 is tapered in plan as shown in Figure 4 so that after the forming process the tine is of progressively increasing height in a direction extending inwardly from the open or outer end of the slot I3. Also, the bending of the portion II of the blank is of such extent that the lower edge of the tine I2, when unrestrained, is positioned in the slot I3 but upon the outer freeend of the tine I2 being raised upwardly the tine is entirely out of the slot with the lower edge thereof approximately parallel with the plane of theupper surface of the body portion Il). The inherent spring characteristic of the material out of which the article is formed provides an inherent spring action in the folded or bent portion II which is operative to yieldingly maintain the tine I2 in position Within the slot I3. The tine I2 may be moved upwardly away from the plane of the body portion I0 against the action of the spring portion II.

In using the implement above described the button to be applied is placed on the upper surface of the body portion I0 in spanning relation with the slot I3 and underneath the tine I2. The button is held in this position by the downward spring pressure asserted on the tine I2 by the spring portion II and for a. purpose to be later described the button may be placed in any selected position longitudinally of the slot and tine. The assembled implement and button is then placed against the cloth to which the button is to be sewed and the entire assembly may then be easily clamped together by a. single hand J i of the operator by placing the `thumb of one hand on the body portion I0 outwardly of the slot I3, for example, while the iingersaoithisk hand are used to clamp the cloth against Athe lower face of the body portion I0. With Iher other hand the needle and thread can be manip-Iv holes in the button immediately upon its emergence from the other of the holes of the button on the same side of the tine I2. In this case the tine I2 serves simply as a means for resiliently holding the button on the body member I0.

It should now be apparent that I have provided an improved button-holding implement which is operative to accomplish the improved results initially discussed above. 'Through the use of an exceedingly simple mechanical device the positioning of a button in a proper location on a. piece of cloth to which the button is to be sewed is materially facilitated and the device includes inherent means for gauging and controlling the length' of loops made in the thread by which the button is attached, whereby the button is sewed on in a tight orin a loose manner, as desired.

the tine I2, thereby 'elongating the loops anfextent determined by the longitudinalv position of the button along the slot I3. 1 ,Ii the button posi,- tioned near the open end of the slot'the .loops v,will

be quite short, while if the buttonis lpositioned back against the springy portion 4III the :loopswill be quite long, due to the increased heightfjtl'i'e tine I2 at the latterposition. "After alsnilicient number of loops have been formed the'fimpleiiient is withdrawn, the body portion I0 ysliding' oitfolf the space between the button 'and `cloth"andthe tine I2 sliding out of the formed loops. The button is now grasped and moved'away from"the cloth to tighten the loops interconnecting the button and 'cloth and in accordance vs 'iij/li'usual practice the interconnecting shank of th'e Iloops may be wrapped with -thread to complete the button attachingoperati'on. l

If it is desired to sew the button quit closely onto 'the cloth when'the button issheld the implement in the 'manner described'above the thread is not looped over the tine vI2fa's'sh`own in Figure 3 but, rather, in making thefloop's' the thread is returned directly down one. offthe The above specifically described embodiment of my invention should be considered as illustrative only as obviously many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the i invention. Reference should therefore be had to the appended claim in determining the scope of the invention.

A button sewing implement comprised oi' a unitary member formed of a single piece of flat spring stock having' a iiat body portion with a slot extending inwardly from one end thereof, a folded portion on theopposite end of said body portion, and a tine extending forwardly from said folded portion in overlying relation with respect to said body'portion, said tine being twisted ninety degreesv with respect to the plane of the upper reach of said folded portion, said tine being disposed centrally and longitudinally of said slot.

RALPH FOLSOM.

REFERENCES CITED The following'refe'rences are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Jan. 5, 1906 

